Monday, October 29, 2012

Operation Lalang : Who Should Apologise?

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has called on the government to apologise and provide closure for all Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of Operasi Lalang reports Malaysiakini.

Lim Guan Eng and the DAP are no strangers to apologies, so, they should know.

The cocky, arrogant and tukang chief minister of Penang had to apologise, to HRH the Sultan of Johore, for Lim's behind the scene comments on the Johore state.

Then there is the apology to former Malacca chief minister, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim, for unfortunate events that had caused Tan Sri Abdul Rahim and family, great distress and anguish.

It was an apology related to a sex scandal alleged to have been committed by the former Malacca chief minister.

For whatever reason, the DAP apology link above will get you nowhere. It can be found here.

In fact, another apology is outstanding. Lim Guan Eng should apologise, to all Penangites at the very least because he is not one, for deceiving all and sundry, by claiming credit that his Penang state administration had managed to reduce state debt from RM630 million at 8 March 2008 to only RM30 million as at end of October 2011 which represents a debt reduction of 95% or RM600 million, which is the highest debt reduction of any state in Malaysia’s history! And emphasised with unashamed gusto.

Deputy Finance Minister, Datuk Donald Lim, came out to say it was wrong for Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to mislead the public into thinking that the state had settled the loan on its own. The deputy minister explained that the state debt was actually transferred to the Federal Government following a water restructuring agreement that was initiated even before Pakatan Rakyat came to power in Penang.

Donald Lim added the CAT Penang CM should be ashamed for telling half-truths for cheap political mileage.

Coming back to the apology for the 1987, Operation Lalang, you will find on it's anniversary day, many versions and motives for the government's action.

I submit three versions relevant to this post.

One is by another DAP idiot Penang member of parliament, Liew Chin Tong, in the Malaysian Insider.

Liew Chin Tong, for all that he could muster in his opinion of Operation Lalang, conveniently omits, among others, one significant fact which blogger Uppercaise does not.

For example, the idiot DAP MP mentions Lim Guan Eng, Mat Sabu and many others were young activists at a time when opposition parties and movements were against Barisan Nasional for very different reasons, and often contradictory causes.

I was privy and bored to death with Liew Chin Tong's non-sensical blabberings at a SUARAM Scorpene non-event forum in Penang, so, stating his failure suffices.

The significant omission later.

Uppercaise mentions present PM, Najib Razak was reputed to have drawn a keris and threatened to bathe it in blood, and there were other blood-curling statements made, including cries of “another May 13″.

Uppercaise was careful and correct to use the word "reputed" for PM Datuk Seri Najib's wholly undeserved "bathing keris" reputation and I want to address that matter and clear all doubts once and for all.

RPK portal Malaysia Today carried an extensive NST article aptly titled "Karpal's poser an urban legend" with the author saying there's one nagging problem with that urban legend of "bathing keris" attributed to Datuk Seri Najib. It is not not true because the author was there covering the rally for the New Straits Times at the time in question. Quote,

"Out of the blue, Najib was confronted with that accusation on Monday in the Dewan Rakyat, thrown on the table by Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) during Question Time.

While Karpal did not reprise the inflammatory words that Najib was accused of uttering at a time when political tension was running amok and Operasi Lalang was just days away, the feisty lawyer did toggle this loaded probability: "You had waved a kris in challenge to the Chinese community. If it was true, are you prepared to ask for forgiveness from the Chinese community?"

"If it was true" being the operative words, outlandish as they are, then even the astute Karpal does not know for a fact if the kris-uttering incident actually occurred. But it doesn't hurt the opposition's standing to tango with this kris mythology to score brownie points that may embarrass the prime minister.

Najib, however, wasn't about to bite the bait in Karpal's unconvincing fishing expedition. "The incident did not take place," Najib retorted, calmly in his trademark baritone.

"I have never said that. The one who should apologise is the YB concerned, not me."

Also Uppercaise opines that events proceeding Operation Lalang led to judiciary’s loss of independence.

Of course, all those who share the same opinion with blogger Uppercaise look to the removal of Tun Salleh Abas as Lord President as the beginning point of the "loss of judiciary indepence."

What prompted the author to write the letter is because the topic of Tun Salleh Abas had cropped up in the papers at the time with the Senator-de facto Minister for Law holding the view that Government should apologise to Tun Salleh for his being sacked as Lord President. Quote,

"It must be remembered that to this day no one knows what the defence would have been if Salleh had appeared before the tribunal and be subjected to cross-examination. Salleh did not do this as he said he ‘did not recognise’ the tribunal in his interviews. Even if one does not recognise a tribunal, one should appear before it and make the necessary submission and if the submission fails, one should still give evidence (under protest so to speak) setting out the defence.

His version, even if disbelieved by the tribunal, will always be there on the record for everyone to see. In fact the tribunal had stated categorically that if it had the benefit of a plausible explanation from Salleh in regard to the several issues which were presented to it for its consideration its decision may well have been different.

By his refusing to appear and give his version (especially in regard to his advocating the acceptance of the Islamic legal system in the interpretation of the laws as propounded by the ‘muftis’) he in fact had shot himself in the foot. It is no use crying foul when he did not exercise his right to be heard. What would he have done in a similar or other cases presided by him?

Now, for that convenient and significant omission.

Uppercaise wrote, "In the midst of all that, Chinese educationists had been unhappy with the posting of non-Mandarin-speaking heads of Chinese schools by the Education Ministry (then headed by Anwar Ibrahim)".

Yes folks, the main cause of events leading to Operation Lalang can be solely placed on Anwar Ibrahim, who as Education Minister, Aliran says in "Operation Lalang Revisited"

The sensitive issues were brought on by what appeared innocuously enough as Education Ministry appointments of some 100 senior assistants and principals to vernacular Chinese schools.

Amidst calls from both sides for the resignations of MCA Deputy President and Labour Minister Lee Kim Sai and UMNO Education Minister Anwar Ibrahim, UMNO announced the holding of a mammoth rally in KL to celebrate its 41st Anniversary, which it was claimed would see the attendance of half a million members.

The proposed UMNO rally was the ostensible reason for the Inspector General of Police to precipitate the 27 October crackdown.

Aliran's "innocuous" appointments of some 100 senior assistants and principals to vernacular Chinese schools which according to Uppercaise were "non-Mandarin-speaking", making Chinese educationists unhappy.

Uppercaise further stated Barisan Nasional’s Chinese-based parties added their voices to the ruckus raised by Dong Xiao Zong and the DAP, calling for Education Minister Anwar Ibrahim to resign as stated by Aliran.

Your friend and not mine, Anwar Ibrahim, is also connected to the incident.

As it turned out, in this Asiaone report, Tan Sri Rahim was asked to step down because "He (Anwar) told me that (then prime minister) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wanted me to leave." after being implicated in an alleged scandal.

And when Tan Sri Rahim “ wrote and submitted my resignation letter, I asked Dr Mahathir if he had instructed Anwar to ask me to resign and he said there was no such instruction”.

It was an Asiaone report of Tan Sri Rahim asking Anwar to resign from politics for sextra-curricular activities caught on tape, confirmed 99.99% as the prime minister designate, severe back ache and all.

So, if there is any apology to be demanded, DAP Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng should direct that demand to his prime minister in waiting, Anwar Ibrahim.

Expect, of course, for Anwar to give his oft-repeated snake oil salesman pitchy excuse, it was Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who made him do the things he did.

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MyKad

Love my country with its pimples, warts and all - a paradise on earth. Born in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor. Blog, Title and Description was created a flip-flop moment in time and what others following will aspire the country to be, that which was achieved by the Special One.

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